Author: Zachary Lytle, AEG Fellow, Washington DC
Given the urgency of both our social and sustainability crises, we must prioritize rapid and effective action. Last month, The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - a UN organization dedicated to understanding climate change and its consequences - released a report that emphasized the need for action, as it stated that we now face irreversible and inevitable impacts to our ecosystems and environment. However, when considering what actions to take to mitigate our climate impact, the carbon footprint of a project cannot be the only criteria of analysis. The impacts of the climate crisis have and will continue to fall disproportionately on disadvantaged and frontline communities. Despite having an intimate understanding of the challenges we face and the potential solutions, these communities often find themselves marginalized or absent from the discussion and implementation of solutions. By centering environmental justice and equitable inclusion of all communities in the planning process, we enable ourselves to build a sustainable and just future more quickly.
In January 2021, AEG convened Stakeholders in Washington DC to discuss major obstacles the District faces on its path to reaching resilience and equity while decarbonizing critical infrastructure. With equity at its center of focus, the District aims for a 50% decrease in emissions from its 2006 baseline and carbon neutrality by 2050. After a series of conversations, Stakeholders decided to tackle the challenge, presented by DC Water’s Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President, Kishia L. Powell, PE, of creating a unified project portfolio based on cost-benefit analysis that would enable collaborators to make informed, expedient, and equitable decisions.
From the start of their work, the Task Force has prioritized equity. As a part of their first milestone, the Committee defined equity for their project as “the impartial access to affordable, reliable, sustainable energy through inclusion and engagement of disadvantaged communities to enhance community resilience, health, and safety and support the District’s climate change and sustainability objectives.” The Task Force created five subcommittees focused on the mission of equity in resiliency. These subcommittees included: Equity Goals, Carbon Goals, Project Portfolio & Funding, Policy & Legislation, and Stakeholder & Community Engagement. With such framing, the Task Force embarked on the process to fulfill their milestones and create a complete project portfolio.
After the Task Force successfully met their first three milestones, AEG hosted the Task Force on August 10th for a LinkedIn Live Roundtable Discussion to update stakeholders on the current state of their Project Portfolio assessment tools and strategy to invite further input as they move towards finalizing their Project Portfolio.
The portfolio ranks projects based on a number of factors which feed into both a value and effort score. To capture the positive impact of a project, the Task Force created a composite score of the project’s emissions reduction, resiliency, and equity impact. Resiliency itself measured both the physical infrastructure resiliency as well as community resiliency. Particular attention was given toward the equity assessment. The Task Force measured inclusion and engagement and utilized the preexisting tools of the Utility Burden Assessment and the Area Deprivation Index. The effort assessment of each project includes the fiscal cost, the complexity of the project, the expected timeline, and the regulatory obstacles. The matrix is designed so that the weightings of each category can be adjusted to reflect the exact objectives of stakeholders when choosing which projects to pursue.
In the final months before reaching the 12 month deadline, the DC Water Task Force intends to continue outreach with their funding partners to explore the potential to start pursuing projects in the portfolio. Additionally, they will finish refining their project portfolio and matrix based on feedback solicited through community and stakeholder outreach and the recent LinkedIn Live Roundtable Discussion.
It has been exciting to watch this Task Force transform the idea of a dynamic project portfolio into a refined tool that will help Washington DC strategically and equitably decarbonize its critical infrastructure. The portfolio this Task Force is creating will enable DC Water and its partners to make timely and informed decisions as they continue to respond to the Climate Crisis. If you missed the LinkedIn Live Roundtable Discussion event, we encourage you to watch a recording here, and provide your feedback to the Task Force by emailing Graham Warnock (gwarnock@goadvancedenergy.com) or Zach Lytle (zachary@goadvancedenergy.com). We at AEG thank all the Stakeholders, Task Force Leaders and Members, AEG Sponsors, and partners who have continuously supported this project.